NJ down again as casino supporters push for expansion

NJ down again as casino supporters push for expansion

Overall gambling win in New Jersey was down by more than nine per cent year-on-year in May despite the state revealing its best figures of 2015.

After a fall in April, numbers released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) regulator saw Atlantic City’s continuing operators take in $221.08m (€196.51m) in the month, which was up by 5.3 per cent or $11.20m on May 2014. The figure means that New Jersey has now taken in almost $1bn in the year to date, with $999.92bn staked in the state in the first five months of the year.

However, the figures also show that there was a nine per cent drop when taking into account discontinued operators, with the total in May 2014 at $242.87m. The results come as supporters of expanded gambling in New Jersey attempt to introduce a referendum later that would allow casinos to be built in areas other than Atlantic City.

“We have to get this on the ballot this November," said state Senator Raymond Lesniak. "If we don't do this now, it will never get done."

Slot machine takings in the state were down 10.9 per cent at $156.99m, with table games down 8.1 per cent at $51.62m, meaning casino fell 10.2 per cent compared to a year ago.

Online gaming fell slightly in May, despite year-on-year total win growing by almost a fifth compared the same month in 2014.

Online gaming was $12.47m in May, up 19.1 per cent compared to May 2014, with year-to-date online gaming revenue at $60.31m, up 12.6 per cent from the same period in 2014. However, the monthly figure was down from the $12.6m recorded in April.

The Borgata interactive gaming licence, which includes the Borgata, PartyPoker and Pala Interactive online gaming operations in New Jersey, remains out in front ahead of other operators in the state, with revenue of just under $4m in May.

However, the figure is slightly lower than the revenue total posted in the same month last year, with other operators such as Caesars Interactive and the Golden Nugget having made ground on Borgata.